Wall construction



9, 1961 A. w. ZIMMERLA 2,998,107

WALL CONSTRUCTION Filed Jan. 3, 1957 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Eel.

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WALL CONSTRUCTION Filed Jan. 5, 1957 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 29, 1961 A. w. ZIMMERLA 2,998,107

WALL CONSTRUCTION Filed Jan. 5, 1957 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 F.?&. 10.

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j 122 124 /ZZ 14 7' 7' Of/VE 4 United States Patent ce 2,998,107 WALL CONSTRUCTION Arthur W. Zimmerla, 500 N. Rockingham Ave., Los Angeles, Calif. Filed Jan. 3, 1957, Ser. No. 632,386 18 Claims. (Cl. 189-34) This invention relates to building interior constructions and more particularly to decorative wall constructions from which shelf brackets may be hung.

Such wall constructions of conventional design are used throughout retail stores to support merchandise shelf brackets. However, the use of several wall constructions must be made to display different kinds of merchandise in different places in, for example, a department store building. In this case, each wall construction is generally made differently with little, if any, interchangeability of parts. The number of parts are multiplied still further by the different sizes of walls needed.

A portion of the large number of parts included in conventional wall constructions must be fixed together at a factory, and a substantial portion of the parts must be fixed together at a place of installation. Due to the fact that a substantial portion must be fixed together at a place of installation, substantial prefabrication is impossible. Moreover, due to the unusually large number of parts, prefabrication is also expensive. Still further, a wall can be erected and disassembled only at the expense of a substantial amount of time and manual labor.

The present invention overcomes these and other disadvantages of the prior art by providing a multi-purpose structural element for use in a wall construction to hold the wall upright, the element comprising an individual channel including two side members of equal length formed integrally with and at right angles with a bottom member, and a row of equally spaced slots in each of the members. Much of the structure in the wall construction of the present invention is employed because a very few total number of parts must be employed, and because substantial prefabrication may be performed at the factory. It is of course desirable to reduce the number of parts in the wall construction in order to make fabrication economical. It is desirable to employ structural elements that are susceptible of substantial prefabrication, whereby installation may be made easily, quickly and economically in a minimum amount of time with a minimum amount of manual labor.

The use of the multi-purpose structural element or individual channel reduces the number of total parts which must necessarily be employed in diiferent wall configurations because it may be used interchangeably with at least four types of wall constructions, that is, a gondola wall, a wall on an existing wall, a wall separated from an existing wall mounted between the floor and the ceiling of a room, and a self-supporting fixture wall supported by a foot member attached to a vertical post. By making the individual channel interchangeable, the total number of parts for all three w-all constructions may be reduced. Furthermore, it is unnecessary to prefabricate a post for a wall on an existing wall and only one of the individual channels is needed to provide a mounting device for a decorative wall on an existing wall. In this case, a plurality of individual channels are provided to support a decorative wall on an existing wall and clamp means are fixed to the existing wall, the clamp means extending through at least some of the slots in each of the side members of the individual channels to clamp the individual channels to and thereby to maintain the individual channels in both a fixed upright position relative to the existing wall.

Patented Aug. 29, 19 61 In the case of a gondola wall or a separate wall supported between the floor and ceiling of a room or of a self-supporting fixture wall, two of the individual channels are welded together, the individual channels being positioned opposite one another with the side members of one of the individual channels overlying the side members of the other of the individual channels, one end of one side member of one of the individual channels being welded to an adjacent side member of the other individual channel and the end of the other of the side members of the other individual channel being welded to the other of the side members of the individual channel.

On any one of the post constructions of the gondola wall, the wall on an existing wall, a self-supporting fixture wall, and the separate wall, the following fixtures are provided to assemble the wall. A retainer strip is provided having oppositely positioned integral channels to receive the mutually adjacent ends of the wall sections. Integral channels are maintained in a spaced apart relationship at their bases by means of a central sheet connected to one of each pair of oppositely directed sides of each of the integral channels. The central sheet has a row of slots spaced distances appropriate to lie in register with the slots in a bottom memberof an individual channel and is positioned against the bottom member with its slots in register with those of the bottom member. Means are provided to book through a plurality of the registering slots to extend upwardly or downwardly in the post against its internal surface above the slots and to rest against the retainer strip externally of the individual channel below each of the slots, and to hold said retainer strip remo-vably against the bottom member of the individual channel.

In each of the four above described wall constructions, the hook means may include either a plurality of shelf brackets or a plurality of keys disposed between the bases of the integral channels of the retainer strip, or a combination of both of these devices.

According to a feature of the invention, the keys are provided with outer edges between the bases of the retainer strip and spaced from the retainer strip central sheet a distance less than the outer channel sides of the retainer strip integral channels, the keys also being cut away at their lower ends adjacent the retainer strip central sheet, whereby the keys may be more easily removed from the registering apertures of the retainer strip central sheet and the bottom side of the individual channel.

According to several aspects of the invention, special features are incorporated in the separate wall construction. One of these features includes the use of the structure described hereinbefore, and includes the use of individual channels that are welded together in a manner such that the apertures in each of the side members of each integral channel are at the same height, each of the apertures being uncovered by an adjacent side member and thereby providing free and open communication from the exterior to the interior of each post, and wherein use of the following is also made: spacer means to aid in the rapid erection of a wall containing a post and for strengthening the wall, the spacer means including a longitudinal member and means to extend inwardly through a pair of horizontally aligned slots on one side of the post in two contiguous side members of the individual channels, respectively, and to extend downwardly into the interior of the post and to hook over the lower ends of the pair of slots, and means fixed to each end of the longitudinal member to abut against the post to maintain the longitudinal member in a position perpendicular to the post, whereby the erection interconnecting of adjacent posts may be performed without the necessity of plumbing more than one post.

example.

The use of the above described structure in the separate wall construction makes the erection of the separate wall still more economical and speeds installation and makes it easier to perform. According to another aspect of the invention, a member is fixed to the ceiling of a room or is fixed to a strip attached to the ceiling of the room to locate the upper end of a post for a separate wall in a preselected position, the post having a hollow longitudinal passageway of rectangular cross section, the member also having a rectangularly shaped cross section of the same dimension as those of the passageway, whereby the post may be located in a preselected transverse position by sliding it upwardly on the member. In this embodiment of the invention for .the separate wall construction, preferably the member is an inverted U-shaped bracket having its base fixed to the ceiling or fixed to a strip attached to the ceiling of the room and having one side longer than the other, the longer side being bent to facilitate locating the post over both sides of the member.

According to another feature of the separate wall construction, a foot is provided for each post, whereby the post may be maintained in a selected vertical plumbed position and whereby the slots in it may be located at a selected height, the post comprising: a post for said decorative wall, the post being hollow at least at its lower end, a first plate fixed to and partially enclosing the lower end of the post, the first plate having an aperture therethrough providing free and open communication from the exterior to the interior of the post, a second plate fixed to the floor, a threaded rod fixed to the second plate in a position to extend vertically and upwardly through the aperture in the first plate, and a first nut threaded to the .rod between the plates to hold the post in a selected vertical position.

It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a plurality of component parts for wall constructions which may be used interchangeably.

It is another object of the invention to provide a wall construction requiring relatively few component parts.

It is still another object of the invention to provide a wall construction having component parts, most of which may be easily prefabricated.

Another object of the invention is to provide an economical and decorative wall construction which may be easily, quickly and economically erected and disassembled.

A further object of the invention is to provide a gondola wall construction.

Still a further object of the invention is to provide a wall construction for use on an existing wall.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide a separate wall construction to be fixed between the floor and ceiling of a room.

Still a further object of the invention is to provide a separate wall construction having brace means which may also be used as spacer means to facilitate rapid erection and disassembly of the wall.

Yet .a further object of the invention is to provide a separate wall construction having means to locate the upper ends of posts in the wall at ceiling height.

One still further .object of the invention is to provide .a separate wall construction having a post foot construc- I accompanying drawings made a part of this specification,

wherein several embodiments are illustrated by way of The device of the present invention is by no means limited to the specific embodiments illustrated in the drawings since they are shown merely for purposes of description.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a gondola construction;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken on the line 2-2 shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the gondola construction taken on the line 33 shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a broken away sectional view of a table construction on which the gondola of FIG. 1 is situated;

FIG. 5 is a broken elevational view of a decorative wall on an existing wall construction in accordance with the present invention;

FIGS. 6 and 7 are broken away sectional views of alternative internal constructions of the wall shown in FIG. 5.;

FIG. 8 is a broken sectional view taken on the line 3-8 shown in FIG. 5;

FIG. 9 is a sectional view taken on the line 99 shown in FIG. 5;

FIG. 10 is a sectional view of the decorative wall taken on the line Ill-10 shown in FIG. 5;

FIG. '11 is a broken away elevational view of a wall which may be constructed in accordance with the invention where no existing wall is found;

FIG. 12 is a sectional view taken on the line 12---12 shown in FIG. 11;

FIG. 13 is a sectional view taken on the line 13-13 shown in FIG. 11;

FIG. 14 is a sectional view taken on the line 1414 shown in FIG. 13;

FIG. 15 is a sectional view taken on the line 15-15 shown in FIG. 11;

FIG. 16 is a sectional view of the construction taken on the line 16-16 shown in FIG. 15; and

FIG. 17 is a broken away sectional view of a foot construction of the wall shown in FIG. 11.

In FIG. 1, a gondola wall 10 is shown extending upwardly through a table 12, the gondola wall 10 including wall sections 14 which may be made of wood, a plurality of retainer strips 16, end caps 18, and a top cap 20. Three hangers 22 extend inwardly in a space provided centrally of the retainer strips 16 and are hooked therein to a post 24, shown only in FIGS 2, 3, and 4. Hangers 22 are provided at three spaced points in the .three retainer strips 16 at two elevations on each side of gondola it) to support four shelves 26 shown in FIG. 1.

Each strip 16 includes a central sheet 17 having a row of apertures in register with those of an adjacent bottom member of a channel. Oppositely positioned .integral channels 19 and sheet 17 are then rolled from one integral piece of sheet steel, channels 19 retaining wall sections 14.

The post 24 is shown in detail in FIG. 2. Post 24 comprises two channels 28 and 30 which are provided with slots 3-2 and 34 respectively centrally thereof as also illustrated in FIG. 3. Channel 28 is provided with side members 29 and a bottom member 31. Channel 30 is s milarly provided with side and bottom members. The sides of each of the channels 28 and 30 are also provided with vertically spaced slots as indicated at 36 in the channel 28. The function of the slots 32 and 34 will be obvious from the description made immediately hereinafter. The slots 36 serve no function in the post 24 itself but do serve to make the channels interchangeable in the uses to which they may be put. It is to be noted that welds 3'8 are provided at the ends of the channel sides of opposite channels 28 and 30 on opposite sides of post 24. This feature of the invention will be explained in greater detail in connection with the use of them in putting a wall up by itself or a decorative wall on an existing wall.

Retainer strips 16 are provided which need not be permanently fixed to the post 24 but need only be fixed thereto by means of the hangers 22 as best shown in FIG. 3 which extend through the slots 32 and 34 or by means of keys shaped as a key 40 having an outer edge 41 spaced below outer channel .side 43 of retainer has 82 are shown fixed to a horizontally strip 16 in FIG. 3. It is to be noted that channel 28 is provided with longitudinal shoulders 11 and 13 to facilitate rapid assembly of a retainer strip 16 thereon. Channel 30 is similarly provided with longitudinal shoulders 33 and 35. It is to be noted further that the hangers 22 are offset in the sectional view of FIG. 2 because the channels themselves are offset from one another by a distance equal to the thickness of the channel wall. It is thus convenient to make the width of hangers 22 equal to the thickness of the channel wall and to make the slots '32, 34 of this same thickness. By virtue of the fact that the retainer strips 16 are de-rnountable from the post 24, removal of keys such as the keys 40 and hangers 22 is easily made and a gondola such as the gondola may be de-mounted easily and quickly. For the purpose of removing a key such as the key 40 from retainer strips 16 and from three posts in the gondola 10 at the three retainer strips 16 shown on the front side of the gondola 10 in FIG. 1, a projection is provided at 42 by which the keys 40 may be rotated outwardly of the posts 24. It is to be noted that key 40 may be pried loose by inserting any projection to serve as a lever under projection 42. Key 40 shown in FIG. 3 will then rotate out of its slot 34 about a point at the top of its corresponding slot 34. It is to be noted that when this point is taken as the center in FIG. 3, the radius of the ear inside the post 24 from a downward vertical angle to the horizontal and extending to the left is not a constant. It decreases from the vertical to the horizontal angle to permit the removal of key 40 without damaging the inner ear or an outer car outside of the post 24.

The posts 24 are secured to the table 12 by means of a U-shaped bracket 44 which is fixed to table 12 by means of screws 46. The posts 24 are then welded to the U-shaped bracket 44. This is shown in FIG. 4."

In FIG. 5, a wall is generally indicated at 48 including panels 50 having slots 52 therein to insert keys of the type 40 to hold the construction together. In a. pair of the slots 52, a pair of brackets 54 identical to the brackets 22 are on both to keep the Wall construction together and to support a shelf 56. The panels 50 are mounted on an underconstruction which is in turn fixed to an existing wall 58 having a doorway 60 extending therethrough on which a molding 62 is positioned.

As shown in FIG. 6, a channel 64 identical to one of the channels 28 and 30 is shown clamped to a supporting board 66 which may be fixed to the wall 58. The channel 64 is clamped to the board 66 by means of clamps 68 which have inwardly bent flanges 70 projecting through side slots 72 corresponding to the slots 36 in FIG. 3 of the channel 64 and flat portions 74 which are fixed to the board 66 by means of screws 76. The front portion of the channel 64 is provided with slots 78 which may coincide with slots 52 in wall sections 50, whereby a sheet-retaining member included in grooves in the panels 50 may be fixed to channels similar to the channels 64 by means of hangers 54 or keys similar to keys 40. One such key 40 is in fact shown in position in a slot 78 in FIG. 7 where a retainer strip 80 is shown of the same cross sectional configuration as the retainer strip 16 shown in FIG. 2. A pair of double clamping memdisposed board 84 to hold channels 64 in FIG. 7. The clamping members 82 are thus provided with two of the appendages 70 to extend through the spaced apertures 72 of channels 64.

All the structure shown in FIG. 6 is also shown in FIG. 8. Some of this structure is also shown in FIG. 9. It is to be noted that retainer strip 80 is provided with end flanges 86 which extend into grooves 88 provided in the wall panels 50 for that purpose. It is to be noted that the grooves 88 may extend vertically the complete length of the wall panels 50 if desired. Alternatively, it may be desirable to put a plurality of sections of the retainer strips 80 at points spaced apart vertically on individual channels 64. A slot 52 of panels 50 is also shown in FIG. 9.

FIG. 10 is a sectional view illustrating the corner struction of the wall panels 50. Slots 52 are also illus- I trated there with retainer strip having flanges 86 in grooves 88 and a channel 64. It is to be noted that although a clamping member 90 is provided, this clamping member 90 is threaded through a side slot 92 and fixed to a board 94 by screws 96 only after a clamping member 98 has been fixed to a wall member 94 by means of a screw 99 After the clamping member 98 has been fixed to the supporting member 94, channel 64 is mounted thereon and retainer strip 80 is mounted on it by keys 40 or hangers 54. A third embodiment of the invention is shown in FIG. 11 through FIG. 17 inclusive. As can be seen in FIG. 12, two channel members '102 and 104 are welded together at 106 in a manner similar to the channels 28 and 30 shown in FIG. 2. It is in fact an advantage of the invention that one of the channel members 102 and 104 which are in fact substantially longer than either the channels 28 or 30 may be used with one of the channels 28 or 30 to provide a post of any selected cross section. The channels 102 and 104 preferably are made larger than the channels 28 and 30 so that side slots 108 in channel 102 and side slots 110 in channel 104 will be: exposed, whereas this is not the case of slots 36 shown in FIG. 3. Channels 102 and 104 are further provided with centrally located slots 112 and '114, respectively, similar to slots 32 and 34 of channels 28 and 30, respectively, shown in FIG. 2. The construction of the post shown in FIG. 12 is from this point very similar to the construction of the gondola wall shown in FIG. 1. However, it is a feature of the invention that the wall shown in FIG. 1 may 'be set up anywhere between a floor and a ceiling. For this reason, the wall is'provided with posts. indicated generally at 116 having a header portion 118- and a foot portion 120. Wall panels 122 are then fixed to the posts by means of retainer strips 124 as shown in FIG. 12, retainer strips 124 being held to posts 116 by means of keys 126 which are inserted through registering apertures or slots of retainer strips 124 and channels 102 of posts 116. Specifically, an aperture is provided for each of the apertures 114. 'It is to'be noted that the identical gondola construction wall be provided if a retainer strip 124 is fixed to the channel 102 and panels 122 fixed to it in a manner similar to the manner in which panels 122 are fixed to channel 102.

All the embodiments of the invention thus far described may be easily set up and demounted. This is especially true of the case in the installation of the wall shown in FIG. 11 where spacer elements 128 are provided, both the header, foot and spacer elements 118, 120, and 128, respectively, being described in greater detail hereinafter.

Specifically a ceiling is indicated at 130 in FIGS. 13 and 14 to which a U-shaped sheet metal member 132 is fixed by means of screws 134. As shown in FIG. 14, the U-shaped member 132' is provided with inwardly bent flange 136. Posts 116 are mounted easily on heads 1'18 simply by raising the post 116 to a position such that it engages the outer portions of U-shaped member 132. By fixing the U-shaped members 132 to a board nailed to a ceiling and by locating the centers of screws 134, a straight and plumb wall may be easily and quickly erected.

To facilitate plumbing the wall, only one of the posts 116 is plumbed and the remainder of the posts 116 are maintained in a vertical position by spacer elements 128 which are shown in FIGS. 15 and 16.

In particular, a U-shaped member 138 is provided. This member, which may be made of steel, is fixed to a wooden board 142 by means of screws 144. U-shaped member 138 is provided with hooks 146 at its end to extend over the bottom portion of slots 110 and 108, respectively, in channels 104 and 102. Each of the spacer elements 138 is also provided with projections 148 to abut against adjacent channels to maintain the board 142 in a horizontal position to plumb an adjacent post 116.

The construction of foot 120 is shown in FIG. 17 including a plate 150 welded to the lower end of one of the posts 116 having an aperture 152 located centrally to receive a threaded shaft 154, the aperture 152 in this case need not be threaded. A washer 156 is then located around the shaft 154 between plate 150 and a nut 158. The nut 160 with nut 158 is threaded to shaft 154 to lock the vertical position of nut 158 on shaft 154 to locate post 116 in a selected vertical position. Shaft 154 is then welded at 162 to a plate 164 which simply rests on the floor indicated at 166 in FIG. 17.

Channels 102, 104 may be of the same width as and thus may be made interchangeable with channels 28, 3G to provide posts of any desired size. Apertures 108, 110 and 36 may be exposed or not as desired. The parts are "thus interchangeable and are kept to a minimum for the gondola wall, the wall on an existing wall, and a separate wall. Channels 28, 30 and 64 are, in fact, identical. Further, the posts for each type of wall may be easily prefabricated by arc welding or other methods of connecting appropriate channels together. For example, :they could be screwed, bolted or resistance welded. Spacer elements 128 may also be prefabricated.

All three walls may be put up quickly with a minimum amount of parts manipulation. For example, wallboard and retainer strips may be fixed to a post and simply with keys 40 or shelf brackets. The basic structure for each "is also easily installed, viz. brackets 44 for the gondola wall, boards 66 and clamping means 82 for a wall on an :existing wall, and head and foot elements 118 and 120 for a separate wall.

All of this makes for an easier and quicker installation and disassembly. A quicker installation may be made also by the use of spacer elements 128 since only one post for one wall need be plumbed.

Although several specific embodiments of the invention have been illustrated and described, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited thereto because other changes and modifications will, of course, suggest themselves to those skilled in the art, and that the true scope of the invention is defined only in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A wall construction comprising: two individual channels each including two side members of equal length formed integrally with and at right angles with a bottom member, and a row of equally spaced slots through each of said members along the lengths thereof, said individual channels being fixed together to provide a post of an approximately rectangular cross-section; a retainer strip hav- ;ing oppositely-facing integral channels; a wall section in each of said integral channels, said retainer strip also having a central sheet connected to one of each of the oppotsitely directed sides of each of said integral channels to .maintain them in a spaced apart relation at their bases,

(said central sheethaving a row of slots, said central sheet being-maintained in a position not only contiguous to one of said individual channels but also in a position such that :said central sheet slots lie in register with the bottom member slots of said one individual channel; and means hooking through a plurality of said registering slots in both :said one individual channel and said central sheet extending upwardly in saidpost against its internal surface above corresponding slots, and resting against said retainer strip exteriorly of said post below each correspondingslot to hold'said retainer strip removably against the bottom member of said one individual channel.

'2. A wall construction comprising: two individual channels eachincluding two side members of equal length :formed integrally with and at right angles with a bottom member, and a row of equally spaced slots through each of said members along the lengths thereof, said individual channels being fixed together to provide a post of a substantially rectangular crosssection; a retainer strip having oppositely positioned integral channels; a wall section in .each of said integral channels, said retainer strip also havinga centralsheet connected to oneof each ofthe roppositelydirected sides of each ,of said integral channels to maintain them in a spaced apart relation at their bases, said central sheet having a row of slots, said central sheet being maintained in a position not only contiguous to one of said individual channels but also in a position such that said central sheet slots lie in register with the bottom member slots of said one individual channel; and means hooking through a plurality of said registering slots in both said one individual channel and said central sheet, extending upwardly in said post against its internal surface above corresponding slots, and resting against said retainer strip exteriorly of said post below each corresponding slot to hold said retainer strip removably against the bottom member of said one individual channel, the'bottom members of said individual channels being provided with shoulders to fit along the edges of said retainer strip central sheets, whereby said retainer strips may be rapidly located on said posts to facilitate increased speed of assembly.

3. A wall construction comprising: two individual channels each including two side members of equal length formed integrally with and at right angles with a bottom member, and a row of equally spaced slots through each of said members along the lengths thereof, said individual channels being fixed together to provide a post of a substantially rectangular cross-section; a retainer strip having oppositely positioned integral channels; a wall section in each of said integral channels, said retainer strip also having a central sheet connected to one of each of the oppositely directed sides of each of said integral channels to maintain them in a spaced apart relation at their bases, said central sheet having a row of slots, said central sheet being maintained in a position not only contiguous to one of said individual channels but also in a position such that said central sheet slots lie in register with the bottom member slots of said one individual channel; and a plurality ofshelf brackets hooking through a plurality of said channel.

4. A wall construction comprising: two individual channels each including two side members of equal length formed integrally with and at right angles with a bottom member, and a row of'equally spaced slots through each of said members along the lengths thereof, said individual channels being fixed together to provide a post of a substantially rectangular cross-section; a retainer strip having oppositely positioned integral channels; a wall section in each of said integral channels, said retainer strip also having a central sheet connected to one of each of the oppositely directed sides of each of said integral channels to maintain them in a spaced apart relation at their bases, said central sheet having a row of slots, said central sheet being maintained in a position such that said central sheet slots lie in register with the bottom member slots of one individual channel; and a plurality of keys disposed between the bases of said retainer strip integral channels,

said keys hooking through a plurality of said registering slots in both said one individual channel and saidcentral sheet extending upwardly in said post against its internal surface above corresponding slots, and resting against said retainer strip exteriorly of said post below each corresponding slotto hold said retainer strip removably against stantially rectangular cross-section; a retainer strip having oppositely positioned integral channels; a wall section in each of said integral channels, said retainer stripalso having a central sheet connected to one of each of the oppositely directed sides of each of said integral channels to maintain them in a spaced apart relationat their bases, said central sheet having a row of slots, said central sheet being maintained in a position such that said central sheet slots lie in register with the bottom member slots of one individual channel; and a plurality of keys disposed between the bases of said retainer strip integral channels, said keys hooking through a plurality of said registering slots in both said one individual channel and said central sheet, extending upwardly in said post against its internal surface above corresponding slots, and resting against said retainer strip exteriorly of said post below each corresponding slot to hold said retainer strip removably against the bottom member of said one individual channel, said keys having outer edges spaced a distance from said retainer strip central sheet less than the distance from said central sheet to the outer sides of said integral channels, said keys also being cut away at their lower ends adjacent said retainer strip central sheet, whereby said keys may be more easily pried loose from said registering slots.

6. A wall construction comprising: two individual channels each including two side members of equal length formed integrally with and at right angles with a bottom member, and a row of equally spaced slots through each of said members along the lengths thereof, said individual channels being fixed together to provide a post of a substantially rectangular cross-section; a retainer strip having oppositely positioned integral channels; a wall section in each of said integral channels, said retainer strip also having a central sheet connected to one of each of the oppositely directed sides of each of said integral channels to maintain them in a spaced apart relation at their bases, said central sheet having a row of slots, said central sheet being maintained in a position not only contiguous to said post, but also in a position such that said central sheet slots lie in register with the bottom member slots of one individual channel; and means hooking through a plurality of said registering slots in both said one individual channel and said central sheet, extending upwardly in said post against its internal surface above corresponding slots, and resting against said retainer strip exteriorly of said post below each corresponding slot to hold said retainer strip removably against the bottom member of said one individual channel, one of each adjacent pair of said side members of said individual channel covering the slots in the side members of the other of said individual channels, and vice versa.

7. A wall construction comprising: two individual channels each including two side members of equal length formed integrally with and at right angles with a bottom member, and a row of equally spaced slots through each of said members along the lengths thereof, said individual channels being fixed together to provide a post of a substantially rectangular cross-section; a retainer strip having oppositely positioned integral channels; a wall section in each of said integral channels, said retainer strip also having a central sheet connected to one of each of the oppositely directed sides of each of said integral channels to maintain them in a spaced apart relation at their bases,

being maintained in a position not only contiguous to one of said individual channels but also in a position such that said central sheet slots lie in register with the bottom member slots of said individual channel; and means hooking through a plurality of said registering slots in both said one individual channel and said central sheet, extending upwardly in said post against its internal surface above corresponding slots, and resting against said retainer strip exteriorly of said post below each corresponding slot to hold said retainer strip removably against the bottom member, said individual channels being welded together in a manner such that the slots in each of the side members in each individual channel are at the same longitudinal position, each of the slots in said side members heinguncovered by an adjacent individual channel and thereby providing free and open communication from the exterior to the interior of said post therethrough.

8. A wall construction comprising: two individual channels each including two side members of equal length formed integrally with and at right angles with a bottom member, and a row of equally spaced slots through each individual channel but also in a position such that said central sheet 'slots lie in register with the bottom member slots of said one individual channel; means hooking through a plurality of said registering slots in both said one individual channel and said central sheet extending upwardly in said post against its internal surface above corresponding slots, and resting against said retainer strip exteriorly of said post below each corresponding slot to hold said retainer strip removably against the bottom member of said one individual channel, said individual channels being welded together in a manner such that the slots in each of said side members in each individual channel are at the same longitudinal position, each of said slots in said side members being uncovered by an adjacent individual channel side member and thereby providing free and open communication from the exterior to the interior of said post therethrough; spacer means to aid-in the rapid erection of the wall containing said post ,and for strengthening the wall, said spacer means including a longitudinal member and means extending upwardly through a pair of horizontally aligned slots on one side of said post in two contiguous side members of said individual channels, respectively, and extending downwardly into the interior of said post and hooking over the lower ends of said pair of slots; and means fixed to the end of said longitudinal member to abut said two contiguous side members of said individual channels to maintain said longitudinal member in a position substantially perpendicular to said post, whereby all of the posts in a wall but one may be erected without the necessity of plumbing them.

9. A support for a decorative wall on an existing wall, said support comprising: a plurality of individual channels, each including two side members of equal length formed integrally with and at right angles with a bottom member, and a row of equally spaced slots through each of said members along the lengths thereof, said individual channels being positioned with the ends of the legs thereof in abutment with the existing wall; and clamp means fixed to said existing wall, said clamp meansextending through at least some of the slots in each of the side :members of each individual channel to clamp said individual channels to said existing wall.

10. A support for a decorative wall on an existing wall, said support comprising: a plurality of individual channels each including two side members of equal length formed integrally with and at right angles with a bottom member, and a row of equally spaced slots through each of said members along the lengths thereof, said individual channels being positioned with the ends of the legs thereof in abutment with the existing wall; clamp means fixed to said existing wall, said clamp means extending through at least some of the slots in each of the side members of each individual channel to clamp said individual channels to said existing wall; a retainer strip having oppositely positioned integral channels; a Wall section in each of said integral channels, said retainer strip also including a central sheet connected to one of each pair of oppositely directed sides of each of said integral channels to maintain them in a'spaced apart relation at their bases, paid central sheet being positioned not only contiguous to each bottom member of each corresponding individual channel, but also having a row of slots therethrough spaced distances apart appropriate to lie in register with said slots in corresponding bottom members of said individual channels; and means hooking through a plurality of said registering slots extending upwardly inside each individual channel against its internal surface above said slots resting against said retainer strip externally of each individual channel below each of said slots, and holding .said retainer strip removably against the bottom mem- Lberof each individual channel.

11. In a wall construction including a hollow post with a plurality of equally spaced slots extending through it along its length and a retainer strip positioned contigu- .ous to ,said post and having a plurality of equally spaced :slots through it positioned to lie in register with the slots of said post, a pair of wall sections, said retainer strip also having oppositely facing channels to hold adjacent vertical edges of said wall sections against said post, a key 'extending through registering slots inboth said post :and said retainer strip holding said retainer strip removably on said post, said key comprising: a flat piece of .sheet material having an outer ear extending adjacent a portion of said retainer strip above the top of said registering slots, and a body portion extending adjacent .a

.portion of said retainer strip below the bottom of said registering slots, the lower endof said body portion being cutaway from said retainer strip to provide a projection by which said key may be pried loose and removed from saidslots, said flat piece ofsheet material also having an inner ear spiraling inwardly and upwardly from the top --vi dual channels being fixed together to provide a post of an approximately rectangular cross-section; a retainer strip having oppositely facing integral channels; a wall section in each of said integral channels, said retainer strip also having a central sheet connected to one of each .of the oppositely directed sides of each ofsaid integral channels to maintain them in a spaced apart relation'at their bases, said central sheet having a row of slots, said central sheet being maintained in a position not only contiguous to one of said individual channels but also in a position such that said central sheet slots lie in registry with the bottom member slots of said one individual channel; and means hooking through a plurality of said registering slots in both said one individual channel and said central sheet extending upwardly in said post against its internal surface above corresponding slots, resting against said retainer strip exteriorly of said post below each corresponding slot, and holding said retainer strip removably against the bottom member of ;-said one individual channel:

l'3. A support for a decorative wall on an existing wall, said support comprising: a plurality of individual channels, each including two side members formed integrally with and approximately at right angles with a bottom member, and a row of spaced slots through each of said members along the lengths thereof, said individual channels being positioned with their longitudinal edgesin abutment against the existing wall; and clamp -means fixed to said existing wall, said clamp means ,ex-

tending through at least some of the slots in each of the side members of each individual channel and clamping said individual channels, to said existing wall.

' l4QA support comprising: a plurality of individual channels each including two side members formed integrally with and at approximately right angles with a bottom member, a row of slots extending through said bottom member along the'length thereof; means mounting said individual channels in substantially vertical parallel positions; a retainer stn'p having oppositely positioned integral channels; a wall section in each of said integral channels, said retainer strip also including a central sheet connected to one ofeach pair of oppositely directed sides of each of said integral channels and maintaining them in a spaced apart relation at their bases, said central sheet being positioned not only contiguous to each bottom member of each corresponding individual channel, but also having a row of slots therethrough spaced distances apart appropriate to lie in registry with said'slots in corresponding bottom members of said individual channels; and means hooking through a plurality of said registering slots, extending upwardly inside each individual channel against its internal surface above said slots, resting against said retainer strip externally of each individual'channel below each of said slots, and holding said retainer strip removably against the bottom member of each individual channel.

15. In a wall construction including a hollow post with a plurality of spaced slots extending through it along its length and a retainer strip positioned contiguous to said post and having a plurality of spaced slots through it positioned to lie in registry with the slots of said post, a pair of wall sections, said retainer strip also having oppositely facing channels to hold adjacent vertical edges of said wall sections against said post, a key extending through registering slots in both said post and said retainer strip and holding said retainer strip removably on said post, said key comprising: a substantially fiat piece of sheet material having a body portion extending adjacent a portion of said retainer stn'p below the bottom of said registering slots, said flat piece of sheet material also having an inner ear extending inwardly and upwardly from the top of the registering slots from the top to the bottom of said slots.

16: In a wall construction including a hollow post with a plurality of spaced slots extending through it along its length and a vretainer strip positioned contiguous to said post and having a plurality of spaced slots through it positioned to lie in registry with the slots of said post, a pair of wall sections,said retainer strip also having oppositely facing channels holding adjacent vertical edges of said wall sections against said post, a key to extend through registering slots in both said post and said retainer strip and holding said retainer strip removably on said post, said keycomprising: a substantially flat piece of sheet material having an outer ear extending adjacent a portion of said retainer strip above the top of said registering slots, and a body portion extending adjacent a portion of said retainer stripbelow the bottom'of said registering slots, said flat piece of sheet material also having an inner ear spiraling inwardly and upwardly from the top of the registering slots to the bottom thereof, whereby said key may be removed from said slots by rotation thereof about a point substantially at the top of said slots.

17. A wall construction comprising: two individual channels each including two side members formed integrally with and at approximately right angles with a bottom member, and a row of spaced slots through each of said members along the lengths thereof, said individual channels being fixed together to provide a post of an approximately rectangular cross-section; a retainer strip having oppositely facing integral channels; a wall section in each of said integral channels, said retainer strip also having .a central sheet connected to one of each of the oppositely directed sides of each of said integral channels to maintain them in a spaced apart relation at their bases, said central sheet having a row of slots, said central sheet being maintained in a position not only contiguous to one of said vindividual channels but also in a position such that said central sheet slots lie in registry With the bottom member slots of said one individual channel; and means extending through a plurality of said registering slots and holding said retainer strip removably against the bottom member of said one individual channel.

18. A support comprising: a plurality of individual channels each including two side members formed integrally with and approximately at right angles with a bottom member, a row of slots extending through said bottom member along the length thereof; means mounting said individual channels in substantially vertical parallel positions; a retainer strip having oppositely positioned integral channels; a wall section in each of said integral channels, said retainer strip also including a central sheet connected to one of each pair of oppositely directed sides of each of said integral channels to maintain them in a spaced apart relation at their bases, said central sheet being positioned not only contiguous to each bottom member of each corresponding individual channel, 20

but also having a row of slots therethrough spaced distances apart appropriate to lie in registry with said slots in corresponding bottom members of said individual channels; and means extending through a plurality of said registering slots and holding said retainer strip removable against the bottom member of each individual channel.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,231,289 Otte June 26, 1917 1,324,076 Smith Dec. 9', 1919 1,620,130 Pietzsch Mar. 8, 1927 1,621,060 Carpenter et a1. Mar. 15, 1927 1,949,531 Dawson Mar. 6', 1934 1,965,599 Koenig et a1. July 10, 1934 2,046,152 Dean June 30, 1936 2,244,649 Carpenter et a1. June 3, 1941 2,691,502 Jones Oct. 12, 1954 2,729,279 Axtell et a1. Ian. 3, 1956 2,925,918 Attwood Feb. 23, 1960 FOREIGN PATENTS 164,605 Australia Aug. 16, 1955 165,868 Australia Nov. 3, 1955 707,503 Great Britain Apr. 21, 1954 

